Kimmorley's chance may have passed and put Johns into running

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This was the NSW team that was going to be too mobile, too clever and too skilful for Queensland from the start - but in the end it became a slugfest.

The money had come for the Blues like there was no risk of them losing. Like there was as much chance of the Maroons winning as there was of Wally Lewis waking up this morning and declaring he really did love NSW.

The bookmakers had started with Queensland as favourites but the punters began to turn that around with the weight of their money on Monday morning, and by that evening NSW were favourites with some agencies. On the eve of the match they were favourites everywhere and their odds kept shortening.

We had seen moves like that before in betting on these matches but, as Origin history showed with the records of the two teams dead even before last night's game, at least half the time they had come undone.

The Maroons are never heavily backed but the thoughts of others never affect them. They always go into games believing they can win, and last night was no exception.

You can always depend on one of them to assist the cause by getting over-zealous as well, as Carl Webb did when he rushed in to belt Blues prop Luke Bailey over the back of the head in the 28th minute after Bailey had taken Chris Flannery high.

NSW coach Ricky Stuart made a point of encouraging his players one by one as they left the field for half-time. It looked like he was fighting a lost cause, but Stuart knew better.

The lead-up to the game had been less than exciting, with no great dramas.

Stuart is not the sort of coach who is going to blow up about something unless he feels passionate about it, like he did when his Sydney Roosters prop Adrian Morley was sent off against the Bulldogs earlier this season.

He doesn't feel comfortable creating a drama just for the sake of it, unlike his Blues predecessor Phil Gould, who was deliberate and masterful at cranking things up in Origin week.

"Gus" considered himself an unofficial promoter of interstate clashes, particularly when he was coaching opposite Wayne Bennett, who only ever fed the chooks the day before the game.

Stuart was available on and off leading up to his first game in charge but he really only warmed up the day before over the issue of how referee Paul Simpkins would rule the ruck.

Queensland coach Michael Hagan had been low-key before last night, but that was understandable for the man who is also the coach of the Knights who are struggling like never before in the premiership. It must be hard to to tell people how to suck eggs when you haven't coached a winning team since last September.

But there is nothing like the thought that his team might be disadvantaged by the style of refereeing to get a coach's blood boiling and Hagan, too, managed to rev himself up over the issue.

Last night's game wasn't among the Origin classics. It was good rather than great. But the result is all that matters and Hagan is a winner again.

The Maroons had victory seemingly wrapped up and somehow NSW got back into it and actually led before Queensland forced extra time.

Superstar halfback Andrew Johns is due to return from a broken jaw the weekend after next for Newcastle and that comeback will be interesting after last night's game.

Brett Kimmorley could have just about put a mortgage on the NSW No.7 jumper for the rest of the series last night. But he didn't have his best game and he will be one of several players whose places will be scrutinised for Origin II in Sydney.

Kimmorley's undoing could be the pass he threw that was intercepted by Matt Bowen for the golden-point runaway try in extra time.

But the Blues have to ask themselves what they were doing for the first 50 minutes, during which they couldn't put any points on the board.

That was where the game was really lost. NSW had to do too much while hoping for too little from the Maroons after that.